The field of the present invention relates to portable insulated containers, or coolers. In particular, a cooler including a combination ice pack and canteen is described herein.
Portable insulated containers, or coolers, are well-known and frequently used for transporting food, drink, and/or other items at lower-than-ambient temperature, particularly perishable items in order to maintain freshness. Most portable coolers take the form of a box or chest with a top or lid that may be opened or even removed, allowing access to the contents contained therein. The bottom, sides, and lid of the cooler are insulated to reduce heat flow into the interior from the surroundings, thereby enabling a reduced temperature to be maintained within the cooler. The insulation may be provided by use of insulating material to form the cooler (styrofoam, for example), or may be provided using a multi-layer construction with an insulating gap between the layers (Thermos(copyright)-like, for example).
However the insulation is provided, the reduced temperature within the cooler is provided by including therein a cold substance, most typically ice or other frozen substance. Frozen substances offer greater cooling capacities than non-frozen substances, since much of the unwanted heat entering the cooler serves to melt the frozen substance before warming the other contents of the cooler. Plain water ice is cheap and readily available, and is the most common frozen substance used in portable coolers. Usually provided in small chunks or cubes, the ice is often simply poured into the cooler along with the cooler contents and the lid closed, keeping the cooler contents at a reduced temperature (relative to an ambient temperature) for an extended period, usually at least several hours.
There are of course several well-known disadvantages associated with the use of ice in coolers. Perhaps most significantly, as the ice melts the cooler tends to fill with water. Unless care is taken (and sometimes even when care is taken), the contents of the cooler may become wet. This is not a problem for some items (canned or bottled beverages, for example) but may be quite undesirable for others (sandwiches, for example). In addition, the ice (and the water resulting from melting) is also quite heavy, making it more difficult to carry the portable cooler when filled. This may be mitigated in part by providing a drain near the bottom of the cooler for allowing the melt-water to drain. Draining a cooler is often a cumbersome, unwieldy, and messy process, particularly when cooler contents remain within the cooler. Many a cooler has been ruined when the drain becomes damaged and no longer seals properly.
It is therefore desirable to provide a cooler that overcomes these undesirable aspects of prior coolers. In particular, it is desirable: to provide a cooler wherein water from melted ice is separated from the contents of the cooler; to provide a cooler wherein the overall weight of the cooler and contents may be reduced; to provide a cooler that need not be drained of melt-water.
Certain aspects of the present invention may overcome one or more drawbacks of the previous art and/or advance the state-of-the-art of coolers, and in addition may meet one or more of the following objects:
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the combination ice pack and canteen may be filled with water and the water frozen to form ice;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the ice in the combination ice pack and canteen serves to maintain the cooler contents at a reduced temperature;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the melt-water from the ice is separated from the contents of the cooler;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the melt-water from the ice need not be drained form the cooler;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the melt-water from the ice may be dispensed as drinking water;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the combination ice pack and canteen comprises a flexible substantially water-tight bag;
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the combination ice pack and canteen includes a flexible re-sealable pour spout; and
To provide a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen wherein the overall weight and volume of the cooler and contents may be reduced.
One or more of the foregoing objects may be achieved in the present invention by a method for maintaining cooler contents at a reduced temperature and for providing drinking water, the method comprising the steps of: a) partially filling a combination ice pack and canteen with water; b) freezing the ice pack; c) placing the ice pack in the cooler along with cooler contents; and d) dispensing melt-water from the ice pack as drinking water, the ice pack thereby also serving as a canteen. The combination ice pack and canteen comprises a substantially water-tight container including a re-sealable dispensing opening. One or more of the foregoing objects may be achieved in the present invention by a cooler with a combination ice pack and canteen, comprising: a) an insulated cooler; and b) at least one combination ice pack and cooler, including a substantially water-tight container including a re-sealable dispensing opening. The combination ice pack and canteen preferably comprises a flexible, substantially water-tight bag with an integral, flexible, re-sealable pour spout. The bag may be partially filled with water, preferably arranged in a substantially flattened shape, and the water frozen. The ice pack and ice are then placed within the cooler with cooler contents, thereby maintaining the cooler contents at a reduced temperature when the cooler lid is shut. Melting of ice in the ice pack results in melt-water that may be dispensed from the ice pack as drinking water, the ice pack thereby serving as a canteen.